The Top 10 Views of Earth From Space

By SPACE.com Staff |
January 6, 2008 02:07pm ET

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The Top 10 Views of Earth From Space

Humans have sent many missions, both manned and robotic, beyond our planet to explore our neighboring celestial bodies. Now and then, these intrepid explorers have glanced home to provide us with sometimes stunning and always thought-provoking images.

Far From Home: Apollo 17

Photo Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)

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Far From Home: Apollo 17

Astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, is photographed here next to the U.S. flag during NASA's final lunar landing mission in the Apollo series. The photo was taken at the Taurus-Littrow landing site while Schmitt was conducting extravehicular activity (EVA).

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Galileo's Breathtaking Shots

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL

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Galileo's Breathtaking Shots

This color image of the Earth was taken by the Galileo spacecraft on December 11, 1990, as it departed on its three year flight to Jupiter. Antarctica is visible at the bottom of the image, and dawn is rising over the Pacific Ocean.

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Earth and Moon

Photo Credit: NASA

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Earth and Moon

This picture of the Earth and Moon in a single frame, the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft, was recorded Sept. 18, 1977, by NASAs Voyager 1 at a distance of 7.25 million miles from Earth. Because Earth is many times brighter than the Moon, the Moon was artificially brightened by a factor of three relative to the Earth by computer enhancement so that both bodies would show clearly in the prints.